Dream vs Mercury Odds: More of a Nightmare for Phoenix

Much-Improved Dream Look to Crush Moribund Mercury

August 3, 2023 124 3 minutes readNBA Picks & Parlays

Dream vs Mercury Odds: More of a Nightmare for Phoenix — Photo taken from sportskeeda.com

Atlanta Favored as the Visitors Against Phoenix

As the Atlanta Dream continue its bounceback season, the Phoenix Mercury sink further. The Dream are on pace to make the playoffs despite some inconsistent play. But Phoenix is last in the WNBA and is now without star center Brittney Griner. Hence, the Dream vs Mercury odds peg the former as six-point favorites this Thursday despite being visitors.

Atlanta Dream (14-12) vs Phoenix Mercury (6-19)

Date, time: Thursday, 10:00 p.m. ET
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix

Dream Remain a Work in Progress

The Atlanta Dream are having a fun season that is delivering above expectations. It’s not perfect and the team has plenty of room to improve. But being two wins above .500, Atlanta has already proven many preseason WNBA predictions wrong with their record.

This is a team that averaged just nine wins a season for the last four years. Now, the team has already equalled last season’s win total with 14 games to spare.

Allisha Gray has become a catalyst for this team. She’s formed an All-Star duo with backcourt mate Rhyne Howard. Together, the two combined to score 36 of the team’s 84.3 points per game while helping create around 20 more.

“My main goal coming in [was] I didn’t want to stop Rhyne from what she was doing or take away from anything she was doing,” Gray said. “I came here to help her continue to elevate her game. I’m here to play my game and overall have fun.”

And so far, the results have been stellar. The Dream are set to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The team is fifth in the WNBA standings and even has win over the Liberty.

But the team remains a flawed contender. Atlanta is still too turnover-prone. Its 14.5 turnovers a game is the second-most in the WNBA and it commits the most shooting fouls. As such, the Dream still have a negative point differential.

This is why the Dream can still be an iff WNBA team to back on the betting lines. Atlanta is just 1-5 against the spread (ATS) in its last six games and 13-13 overall. Being a six-point favorite on the Dream vs Mercury odds is more of an indictment on Phoenix than a vote of confidence for this team.

Taurasi Perseveres While Griner Steps Back for Mercury

There isn’t much of anything positive to say of the Phoenix Mercury’s 2023 season. Diana Taurasi continues her ascent on the record books. While Brittney Griner, despite the feel-good story of her return, will step away from basketball for personal reasons.

“Mercury center Brittney Griner will not travel with the team on its upcoming two-game road trip to Chicago and Indiana (July 30-August 1) to focus on her mental health. The Mercury fully support Brittney and we will continue to work together on a timeline for her return,” the Phoenix Mercury announced.

The eight-time All-Star averaged 18.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks for Phoenix in 28 minutes of play. Without her, Phoenix is bound to be weaker. The team has won just six games and is last in offensive rating (97.5) and second-last in defensive rating (107.6).

As for Taurasi, the 41-year-old is still putting up over 16 points a game along with over five assists. She is just 18 points away from hitting 10,000 points. She could achieve this milestone in this game against Atlanta.

The Dream vs Mercury odds pegs Phoenix as the underdog and its meetings against Atlanta tend to go under the total (163.5 in this game). But Taurasi could be extra motivated to put up points given what’s at stake for her.